Only Israel is 'Born Again'
Today, we are familiar with the term, 'born again'. We hear it often in evangelical messages or when speaking of people who are saved. One might say he is a 'born again' Christian, or on this day and in this circumstance I came to the Lord and was 'born again'. But is this term being used accurately according to biblical context. Are you and I, today, under the dispensation of grace, really 'born again'?
Let's look at the first time it was used in the King James bible. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus,
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ... 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ... 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
It would be natural to assume that when Jesus says, 'born again', the 'again' indicates a second time, meaning that a first birth had already occurred. Well, who was born a first time? And when was this? And why must they be born again?
To answer the first question, let me draw your attention to verse 7 above. Notice the word "Ye". In the KJV translation, "Ye" is the plural form of "You". So, when Jesus says "Ye must be born again", he is not referencing Nicodemus, but Israel. "Ye" is referring to Israel and Jesus is telling Nicodemus that ALL of Israel must be born again. So, our first question is answered by the fact that Israel was born once before and that it is Israel that now needs to be born again.
Let's focus on question two. When was Israel born before? Have a look at the following verses for the answer,
Ex.4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
Num.11:11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten [Heb. yalad, birthed] them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
In the above verses, God tells Moses that Israel is His son, even His firstborn. In Exodus the nation of Israel was born the first time when God delivered them out of Egypt. The LORD calls the nation his firstborn son, and in turn, Moses refers to them as having been conceived and begotten. So clearly, here we can identify with the scriptures that confirm that the nation of Israel was born, and that this refers to their first birth, which answers our second question.
Our third question is, "Why must they be born again"? Why did Jesus tell Nicodemus that Israel had to be born again if they were already born once? To answer this, we need to remember that God made a covenant with Israel when He provided them with the law. The covenant stated that they would be blessed if they obeyed and cursed if they did not. We know in hindsight that Israel was not able to keep the law and failed miserably. At the Jerusalem council, Peter said that Israel was not able to bear the weight of the law,
Acts 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
This law covenant had the need to be replaced. As Israel's sins grew it was clear that merely being born a Jew into the promises and covenants of God was not able to cause them to serve the Lord. The prophets spoke of a better covenant that would replace the old for the house of Israel (Jer.31:31). This new covenant would include the impartation of God's Spirit to cause them to walk in his statutes (Ezek.36:27). It was this new covenant that was necessary for God to fulfil his kingdom promises to Israel, and Israel needed to be born again into this new covenant that was light and easy to bear (Matt.11:28-29). When Jesus said, "he cannot see the kingdom of God" and "he cannot enter into the kingdom of God", this kingdom in reference was the very inheritance of the new covenant, that marvelous refreshed and restored Millennial Kingdom of Christs reign on earth. So, Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus that he had come to Israel and was ministering their need for being born again through a better covenant which He would be offering. No longer would Israel be identified by the old covenant but by the new.
It was up to the whole nation of Israel to recognise and receive the offer of this new covenant that Jesus set up in Luke 20:22. As Jesus mentioned to Nicodemus, it was necessary that ALL of Israel be born again. This was a requirement for the covenant to be realised. Because most of Israel rejected their Messiah and refused the new covenant, it was put on hold for a future date. We know in prophecy that this will be fulfilled at Jesus second coming when the remnant of Israel, the remainder of all of Israel out in the wilderness at the end of the tribulation, will be born again as Jesus pours out His Spirit upon all of them,
Jer.31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Ezek.36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Another incredible scripture that confirms this rebirth of Israel at Christs second coming is in a prophecy where Isaiah records that all of Israel will be born in a day. This is the very day when Jesus returns and saves the remnant of Israel, pours out His Spirit upon them and brings them back into their land,
Isa.66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
So, the new birth spoken of by the Jesus in John 3 is a reference to the future REBIRTH of the "Nation Israel" when she is to be spiritually cleansed and then possesses her land forever (see 1 John 2:26-29). It was always Gods plan that the whole nation would be "born again," and they would be the vessel God would use to minister to the lost Gentile world. This did not happen in Jesus day due to the unbelief of the Jews, but as with all biblical prophecy, it most certainly WILL be fulfilled. This will happen at the end of the tribulation and into the Millennial Kingdom.
Since only the Nation of Israel was originally "begotten" or "born of God" as a Nation a 'first time,' in the wilderness after leaving Egypt's bondage, then only the Nation Israel can be born-AGAIN.
While Israel had been born of God for thousands of years and was required to be born again, the Gentiles in Paul's ministry were never 'born again', but are regenerated (revived, made alive) in an instant into an entirely new creature (2 Cor.5:17). For this reason, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, never mentions the phrase "born again" which speaks to Israel's second birth of the Spirit into the new covenant. Instead, the same Spirit creates an entirely new creature to fulfil God's will in the heavenly places.
For the believing Gentile members of "the body of Christ" it was a "regeneration" of their indwelling spirit by His Spirit. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor.6:17) Our human "spirit of man" (Zech.12:1) that was "dead in trespasses and sins" has been "regenerated" by having received the very life of Christ in and with His resurrected "Spirit of life" that was dispensed into us the moment we first "believed".
Thus, Paul declares:
Eph.2:1,5 " You hath He quickened [to revive; make alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins" ... "when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with [by the resurrected Spirit of] Christ".
Eph.2:10 "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" ...
Eph.4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Just what is it that God is creating today in this age of "the grace of God," while Israel is fallen and set aside until the second coming of Jesus? Today God is creating a new species of humanity which is "neither Jew nor Gentile", thus having no racial distinction. Just as Adam was not born but was rather created, so we go from the old creation (a dead spirit) into becoming a new creation as we go from being in Adam into being placed in Christ!
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor.5:17)
Summing it up:
"Rebirth" and "Regeneration" are associated with God's two programs; one for the Nation Israel and one for the church, called "the body of Christ."
Rebirth for a Jew in the Kingdom program made them a part of a 'born-again' Nation of Israel
Regeneration for a grace-believer during today's "dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph.3:2) makes them a part of "the Body of Christ," an entirely 'new creation.'
According to Jesus in John 3, the person who was not born-again would not see the kingdom: Israel was promised a kingdom on earth, and "born again" is clearly a Jewish term that has no place in the Dispensation of Grace today. Paul is "the apostle of the Gentiles," the spokesman through which God is speaking to us in the Dispensation of Grace (Rom.11:13), and never does Paul use that term "born again." This leads us to conclude that the phrase cannot and does not apply to us as members of the Church the Body of Christ. We are not Jews, spiritually or physically. We are separate and distinct from the nation Israel of times past. The term "born again" applies to believing Israel, not to us. The "ye" in John 3 is the nation Israel; it has nothing to do with you, me, or anyone else reading this article because God has set Israel aside for a time period.
Today, you must be "in Christ" (notice, Paul did not say, "if any man be born again…;" see 2 Cor.5:17). In our dispensation, God is not looking to make Israel "born again." God is seeking out people to become a part of a new creature, the Church, Body of Christ, who is part of His heavenly program and will fulfil a heavenly role into the ages future.
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